3D background for aquarium

maintenance, care, compatibility

It so happens that the aquarist has carefully thought out the internal design of his home pond, correctly picked up plants, fish and other inhabitants, but the aquarium does not look complete and complete. But the fact is that an important detail was missed – the background.

Performing this part harmoniously and at the same time non-standard is a rather difficult task. Let’s try to figure out what are the current design options.

Background is the most important element of aqua design. Its main role is to hide everything superfluous from view: a wall, wires, equipment and create a general holistic impression of design.

He himself remains unobtrusive, but allows to diversify the compositions inside the home pond, without interfering with imagination and not eating valuable space.

The pinnacle of mastery is when the background and all other decorations create a spatial perspective, a single composition, smoothly flowing into each other.

Create a dry diorama with backlight installed behind the aquarium. To do this, first make a box of plywood or cardboard with a depth of 5-10 cm. Its inner surface is painted in a dark color and decorated with snags, branches, bark, stones, etc. It depends only on the performer’s imagination.

The cavity of the box is illuminated with small light bulbs.

pros such a structure: you can hide the equipment, it looks spectacular.

Minuses: its construction requires experience, it is difficult for a beginner to create a harmonious diorama. Also, the design accumulates dust inside that is difficult to clean.

In conclusion, I want to say that you should not underestimate the function of the background for the aquarium. The time and effort spent on this business will surely pay off. What it takes to take care in advance is about additional tanks for the inhabitants during the renovation of their main home.

If the installation of the background occurs before the launch of a new aquarium, then this problem is removed. On the Internet you can find a lot of detailed descriptions and workshops on how to install a ready-made background, and create your own unique one.

Dare, and all must succeed!

Useful video: the background for the aquarium foam with his own hands.

The main types are as follows:

External. The main reasons for the fact that it is most often found in aquariums: low price and high availability.

In addition, it does not deteriorate the appearance due to fouling algae.

Interior. It looks more natural, but when installing it there are a number of nuances that you should definitely take into account. All materials must be non-toxic and do not affect the chemical composition of the water.

Such a background is installed in the aquarium before pouring water and should be well attached to the glass to avoid its falling or the penetration of the fish behind it.

Both types can be bought or made by hand.

Its manufacturers promise non-toxic materials. There are different options for mounting it inside the aquarium:

with the silicone glue included in the kit (as with Juwel),

by pressing a layer of soil or stones to the back wall (as in Rochepierre).

Such design is expensive, and it often looks too prim and academic. The background most often has standard sizes. If the aquarium does not correspond to them (say, homemade), then it will be very difficult to choose an option.

This is what concerns flaws.

From the advantages of this background can be noted the ease of installation. Also, it does not look as primitive as the previous ones, and makes it possible to add volume to the contents of the aquarium.

For example, you can paint the back wall of the aquarium. This is not only the easiest, but also the cheapest way. It is better to choose dark monochromatic colors, such as black, brown, blue, green.

Paint can be taken oil or aerosol for the car body.

Pros: non-toxic because the painted surface does not come into contact with water.

Minuses: the background can be made only before installing the aquarium and then it can not be changed.

Another option is to stick a film photo composition. The film is of different widths and is sold by the meter.

Buy it better with a margin and then fit the size of the glass.

Work needs to be done carefully and carefully, as it will be difficult to fix the misses, especially if the aquarium is close to the wall.

If the film is glued to the entire surface, then the background will be clearer than the non-glued one. Mount such a film can be both outside and inside the container.

In the internal arrangement, sealant for aquariums is used.

There should be no gaps or bubbles between the background and the glass.

When installing the film background lovers most often make the following mistakes:

Tack only on the edges of scotch. Air and water can get under the background and it will stick or lag in certain places. It looks very ugly.

Vaseline, soap, sugar syrup, etc., are used for gluing. Over time, the background attached in this way lags behind, especially in places where it was slightly missed.

Choose the wrong consistency of adhesive materials. Because of this, it is difficult to expel all the air from under the film. Remains of bubbles that spoil the whole look.

To avoid these problems, it is recommended to use special glue.

Apply glue to snake-like glass on previously cleaned and dried glass, spread it with a spatula. Then it remains only to attach and level the background.

Particular attention should be paid to the edges. Be sure to expel all the air from the center to the edges.

Glue from the edges can be removed with a sponge. In conclusion, you need to fix the film with adhesive tape on all sides.

The background made in this way can be changed if necessary in the future.

The third way is to set a decorative volumetric background. It imitates natural materials: stone, sand, plant roots, and more.

It is made of polymeric materials that are non-toxic and, unlike natural materials, do not affect the chemical composition of water, and also have a small weight.

It is installed along the back wall. But often it is placed on the bottom of the aquarium, pressed down with a primer, and plants are planted in the hollows.

The main disadvantages of the volumetric background include the following:

It is difficult to clean and rinse. Behind the background, water can stagnate and rot organics, which will not add to the health of the fish. Yield: either glue as tightly as possible, or ensure good water circulation and regular extraction and washing of the background.

It may grow algae.

It takes a lot of useful space in the aquarium.

Causes injury and death among fish. Pets can swim between the background and the glass. Exit: close all openings and openings with silicone glue.

Design the back wall with the help of plants (this is the so-called living background). For work you will need a plastic or metal stainless mesh size twice the size of glass, suction cups, transparent fishing line, moss.

Half-meshes should be evenly laid out with moss, cover it with its second half and attach the structure to the glass with suction cups. The moss will grow, it will need to be cut regularly.

The result of this work is a wall of moss.

Minus this background: need additional fertilizer for plants.

You can use not only different types of moss, but also other ground cover plants, such as, for example, Hemianthus callitrichoides Cuba, which can create bright and catchy thickets.

Live background can be created not only with the help of the grid, but also using frames made of transparent material and nylon threads stretched between them. Plants (ferns, anubias nana, mosses) are inserted between the threads.

Background for aquarium photo video a detailed description.

Create a dry diorama with backlight installed behind the aquarium. To do this, first make a box of plywood or cardboard with a depth of 5-10 cm.

Its inner surface is painted in dark color and decorated with snags, branches, bark, stones, etc. It depends only on the performer’s imagination. The cavity of the box is illuminated with small light bulbs.

pros such a structure: you can hide the equipment, it looks spectacular.

Minuses: its construction requires experience, it is difficult for a beginner to create a harmonious diorama. Also, the design accumulates dust inside that is difficult to clean.

In conclusion, I want to say that you should not underestimate the function of the background for the aquarium. The time and effort spent on this business will surely pay off. What it takes to take care in advance is about additional tanks for the inhabitants during the renovation of their main home.

If the installation of the background occurs before the launch of a new aquarium, then this problem is removed. On the Internet you can find a lot of detailed descriptions and workshops on how to install a ready-made background, and create your own unique one.

Dare, and all must succeed!

Useful video: the background for the aquarium foam with his own hands.

Making an aquarium is a big and time consuming job. To further home water kingdom delivered less trouble, before starting the aquarium, all the details are carefully thought out: lighting, filters, aerators.

Any aquarist knows that you need to determine in advance the decorative elements and decide what the background for the aquarium will be.

Before starting to move in and out of the aquarium, it is necessary to solve the problem with the design of the rear part. The internal background in the aquarium is of great importance, and it does not matter whether a film or a relief sheet of polyurethane foam was used for it.

The main functions of the background include:

Decorative. The overall appearance of the aquarium depends on the background you choose. Playing with flowers, you can easily shade both the plants and the inhabitants themselves. You can smooth out some of the flaws in the interior design, diverting attention to the background. You can also add to the look of your aquarium a certain zest and originality.

Utilitarian. Using the background allows you to gently divert attention or even completely hide the wires, tubes and hoses and other internal inventory. In addition, the embossed background allows you to create the effect of fullness in the aquarium, if the internal decorative elements are not enough.

The main types are as follows:

External. The main reasons for the fact that it is most often found in aquariums: low price and high availability.

In addition, it does not deteriorate the appearance due to fouling algae.

Interior. It looks more natural, but when installing it there are a number of nuances that you should definitely take into account. All materials must be non-toxic and do not affect the chemical composition of the water.

Such a background is installed in the aquarium before pouring water and should be well attached to the glass to avoid its falling or the penetration of the fish behind it.

Both types can be bought or made by hand.

Such designs are offered in most pet stores. Polyurethane volumetric backgrounds repeat different textures – stone, wood and others.

This relief sheet allows you to give a certain color to the aquarium. Naturally, the backgrounds of polyurethane foam are more expensive than, say, film, but many aquarists are not afraid, and they choose only this option.

This type of background has a number of advantages: high-quality panels look really beautiful, give a certain charm to the aquarium; due to its volume, the embossed background allows you to hide the wires and hoses from the equipment. The disadvantages include the difficulty of cleaning the panel itself (which needs to be done because it becomes dirty, as well as the walls).

The panel is fixed from the inside, at the back wall, with the help of silicone sealant (it often comes complete with the panel, but you can also buy it at the hardware store). When choosing a relief ready-made background, keep in mind that after installing it, the volume of the aquarium will become slightly smaller.

It is also important to fasten it well, so that there is not the slightest gap and crevices – fish can get stuck in them.

The choice of color plays a big role in the design of the aquarium. The coloring should not only ideally emphasize all the advantages of your water kingdom, but also organically fit the aquarium into the overall interior of the room.

The black. Black color is one of the most preferred – it creates an internal effect of specularity, depth. Best suited for aquariums that are not crowded with decorations and numerous algae. Black film allows you to draw attention to the bright fish and plants, and not to the decorations of the aquarium. That is why the black color is usually chosen by the owners of colorful exotic fish and aquatic plants.

Blue. Its various shades are used to impart a natural aquarium to create a kind of effect of the depth of the ocean. Most often, such a background is chosen precisely for marine aquariums – against such a background, marine species of fish look best.

Sand. Various shades of beige, brown, yellow colors – natural, close to natural. Such a film allows you to create a real river design, and on their background the fish of dark colors look especially beautiful.

Green. This color is considered the calmest, it visually increases the volume of the aquarium, enhances its depth. Shades of green are better for choosing for aquariums in which many plants are placed, as so they will look even more effective. In this case, dark fish, as in the previous case, look great in this design.

White. White background is used no less than black. It looks really magical, and a translucent film creates a certain effect of glow behind the glass. On a white background, the fish of dark and light colors look equally beautiful, emphasizing the features of plants and decorations. But he has one big drawback: any contamination and damage immediately catches the eye.

Picture. There are a variety of “wallpaper” for aquariums. Such a film can imitate any surface — for example, repeating the texture of stone, wood, and even fabric. They can also represent a whole picture, for example, an underwater landscape. You should choose such a film only if there are very few decorative elements in your tank.

Whatever color you choose, try to select a primer of contrasting shades – this is the background and the overall design will look more effective.

The background for the aquarium is an essential element. Its design is not a big deal, but you shouldn’t be careless about this stage of preparing an aquarium. Given the location of the aquarium, the characteristics of the fish you plan to inhabit, and the decor of the tank, you can create a magical underwater corner in your apartment.

Choose a suitable background, creatively approach the work and create your uniquely designed aquarium, which will become your pride and luxurious element of the interior.

For self-made background used a variety of unusual materials:

polyurethane foam;

foam concrete;

epoxy resin;

polyurethane foam;

Styrofoam;

cork tiles;

slate, stones;

snags and more.

The main requirement is the safety of selected materials.

There are quite a few options for making aquarium background manually. A brief look at some of them.